Earthquakes Weekly Update

This WeekThe San Jose Earthquakes return to action this week, following an off-week after their season opening loss at the hands of defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake. The Earthquakes travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Fire on Saturday, April 10 at Toyota Park at 5:30 p.m. PT. Fans can listen to the action on 1220 KDOW or watch the game on MLS Direct Kick.

Last GameReal Salt Lake 3, Earthquakes 0; March 27, 2010; Buck Shaw Stadium; Santa Clara, Calif.The Earthquakes opened their season with a 3-0 loss at the hands of defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake on Saturday in front of a crowd of 10,589—the largest ever to watch the Quakes at Buck Shaw Stadium. Javier Morales opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he craftily controlled a pass from Espindola and fired a wicked shot from 35 yards out. It was 2-0 in the 27th minute, when Jason Hernandez attempted to break up a lead pass from Morales meant for Fabian Espindola. Instead, the ball bounced off Espindola’s chest and landed at his feet, affording him ample opportunity to beat the charging Cannon. The outcome was cemented in the 53rd minute, when Robbie Findley flicked on a pretty back header that Espindola ran onto. Chris Leitch made the only play he could, holding back Espindola and drawing a red card at the edge of the penalty area. Morales duly stepped up and curled home a gorgeous free kick, once again high and to the far post, leaving Cannon diving at air.

Last Game vs. Chicago FireChicago Fire 2, Earthquakes 0; July 18, 2009; Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the Chicago Fire's Designated Player, set up a Patrick Nyarko goal in the 82nd minute then added one of his own in stoppage time to lead the Fire to a 2-0 win against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Park.

Misc. Notes

Quakes Hit the RoadThe San Jose Earthquakes make their first road trip of the 2010 season this week, as they head to Chicago to take on the Fire at 5:30 p.m. PT.

Quakes Sign BuschThe San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that they have signed veteran goalkeeper Jon Busch. Per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The New York native played the last three seasons with the Chicago Fire, where he made 63 regular season appearances, posting 21 shutouts. In 2008 and 2009, Busch played in every minute of every match for the Fire and with Busch in the net, the Fire advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship the past two seasons. Busch took home 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Honors, posting a franchise record-tying 10 shutouts and also winning the Fire’s MVP award. The eight-year veteran made his MLS debut in 2002 with the Columbus Crew, and played there through the 2006 season. During his time with the Crew, Busch appeared in 84 matches, starting 83 of those. He posted 25 clean sheets and won 25 games. During his MLS career to date, Busch has compiled a 60-43-42 record with 46 clean sheets. In 2005, Busch earned his first appearance for the United States national team, posting a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Colombia. He was again called into national team camp in 2009, and dressed against Sweden, but did not play. Busch spent five seasons in the A-League before he came to MLS, where he took home A-League Goalkeeper of the Year and First Team honors in 2001. He played for the University of North Carolina Charlotte for three seasons, and led the 49ers to a 1996 College Cup semi-final.

Busch Back in Windy CityEarthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch’s first trip since being waived by the Chicago Fire in March comes this weekend against his former team when the Quakes take on the Fire Saturday night. Busch appeared in 63 games over the three years he spent with Chicago and took the Fire to the Eastern Conference Finals twice. He also earned 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

Quakes Launch AcademyThe San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that they have officially launched the Earthquakes Youth Academy, which will field a pair of academy teams beginning the summer of 2010. For its first season, the Earthquakes Academy will establish squads at the Under-16 and Under-18 levels under the U.S. Soccer Development Academy system. The launch of the Earthquakes Youth Academy continues ownership’s commitment to improving all areas of the organization. The academy will be overseen by Doyle as well as Earthquakes coaches and staff and will use the new “Nutrilite Training Center” as its home base. Fred Wilson, the current general manager of Mustang Soccer in Danville, Calif., will take over as the Academy Director of Administration and Travel. The Quakes have tabbed a pair of former professional players to serve as head coaches, Carl Edwards for the U-18 squad and Cris Gilmore for the U-16s. Patrick Uriz and Joe Owen will be assistant coaches for the respective teams. The Earthquakes Academy aims to develop the best soccer talent in the Bay Area in the same regard as youth playing professionally overseas. Players selected to play will practice four times each week at the Nutrilite Training Center under the watchful eye of San Jose Head Coach Frank Yallop as well as assistants Ian Russell, Mark Watson and Jason Batty. The inaugural Earthquakes Academy season will run from September of 2010 through July of 2011. League matches will be played against teams as close as De Anza and as far away as Seattle and Los Angeles. Additionally, the team will play in tournaments to fill up a 30 game schedule. The Earthquakes will fully fund all team-related expenses for a total of 44 players in the Earthquakes Youth Academy pool - 22 apiece between the U-16 and U-18 levels.

Earthquakes - Fire ConnectionsRyan Johnson spent time with the Chicago Fire before coming to San Jose. After being drafted by Real Salt Lake in 2006, he was traded to Chicago midway through that season. He played three games for Chicago in 2006 … Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch played with the Fire for the last three seasons, where he won MLS Goalkeeper of the Year … Quakes rookie defender Ike Opara played with Fire midfielder Corben Bone at Wake Forest, where they won a national championship together … Fire midfielder Julio Martinez plays on El Salvador’s national team with Quakes midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Ramon Sanchez … Sanchez and Alvarez also played for Fire coach and former head coach of El Salvador, Carlos de los Cobos with the national team … San Jose midfielder Brad Ring grew up in the Chicago area and played his youth and high school soccer there … Chicago defender C.J. Brown is from Hayward, Calif. and played college soccer at San Jose State … Fire forward Calen Carr played college soccer in the Bay Area at Cal … Logan Pause played with current Quakes defender Chris Leitch at the University of North Carolina and with Bobby Convey on the U-23 United States national team during Olympic qualifying in 2004 … Justin Mapp also played with Convey while at D.C. United.

History of the Quakes-Fire RivalryThe Earthquakes and the Chicago Fire have had a memorable rivalry since the Fire came into MLS in 1998.The most memorable game of the rivalry came in 2003, when Chicago and San Jose met for the MLS Cup at The Home Depot Center on Nov. 23. The Quakes defeated the Fire 4-2 in Frank Yallop’s final game as the head coach before returning last season. Landon Donovan scored two goals, while Ronnie Ekelund and Richard Mulrooney each netted a goal to lead the Quakes to the victory. That game was the only playoff meeting between two of the league’s most successful clubs … Joe Cannon has appeared in 21 matches against Chicago and posted seven shutouts … Jason Hernandez made his MLS debut on Oct. 5, 2005, playing for New York against the Fire at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Quakes All-Time Leaders vs. FireJoe Cannon has shut out the Fire seven times in his career … Arturo Alvarez and Chris Wondolowski have each scored two career goals against the Fire.

Fire All-Time Leaders vs. San JoseBrian McBride has scored nine career goals and has notched two assists in his career against the Quakes … Marco Pappa and Patrick Nyarko have each scored one career goal against San Jose.

San Jose in AprilThe Quakes are 19-22-11 all-time in April in MLS play.

Cannon Among All-Time LeadersEarthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon is among the all-time league leaders in a number of goalkeeping categories. He is second in goalkeeper appearances (275), starts (274) and minutes played (24,765). He is now third all-time in saves (1,125), third all-time in shutouts (68) and tied for fourth all-time in wins (98) in league history. For San Jose, Cannon is first in club history as a goalkeeper in starts (160), minutes played (14,571), saves (657), wins (60) and shutouts (38) and second in goals against average (1.35), and saves percentage (73.2). He also holds the team's all-time record for saves in a game with 12 on July 8, 2000 at Colorado.

Corrales Among All-Time LeadersRamiro Corrales has the most appearances in franchise history with 168, has made 152 starts and 13,512 minutes played as a member of the Quakes. He is now third place in franchise history in starts and is third in all-time in club history for minutes played.

Quakes to Host RSL on April 14The San Jose Earthquakes will host Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, April 14 at Buck Shaw Stadium in a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Play-in match. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. PT. Season ticket holders should use their Bonus Game "A" ticket for the match. For non-season ticket holders, tickets for the match go on sale on Tuesday, March 16 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets range from $20-$50 and can be purchased by calling (800) 225-2277 or by logging on to sjearthquakes.com. The Earthquakes will face RSL for the second time in an Open Cup Play-in match, losing 4-0 in 2008 at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Last season, San Jose lost to the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, in an Open Cup Play-in match at Buck Shaw Stadium.

Quakes Games to be Broadcast in HDThe San Jose Earthquakes announced Thursday that Comcast SportsNet will televise a minimum of 15 Earthquakes games in 2010. For the first time, all of the games will be produced in High Definition. Thirteen games will air on Comcast SportsNet California, one game will air on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and one on Comcast SportsNet Plus. The Quakes broadcast schedule begins on Comcast SportsNet California with their home match against the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 17. Including national television broadcasts and the MLS Direct Kick package, the Earthquakes will have all 30 games aired on television in 2010. The partnership will also include appearances by Earthquakes players and coaches on Chronicle Live and coverage on both SportsNet Reports and SportsNet Central. The broadcast booth will see some changes this year as long-time Northern California announcer Jim Kozimor will join John Shrader for all Quakes games, while Dan Dibley will serve as the sideline reporter for home broadcasts.

Quakes Launch YouTube ChannelThe Earthquakes have launched their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/sanjoseearthquakes. Make sure to check out the latest video content from the San Jose Earthquakes.

Philadelphia Match on Sept. 18 Moved to Sept. 15The San Jose Earthquakes announced last week that their game that was scheduled for Saturday, September 18 has been moved to Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7:00 p.m. PT at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The full 2010 Earthquakes schedule is available on www.sjearthquakes.com.

Quakes Individual Tickets Now On SaleThe San Jose Earthquakes announced that individual tickets for all 2010 Earthquakes home games are now on sale. The Quakes significantly reduced prices for the 2010 season with prices ranging from $20-50. Tickets for the much anticipated 2010 campaign are available online at sjearthquakes.com or by calling 1-800-225-2277. The new, reduced prices for the 2010 season are as follows; Premier Midfield $50 per game ($60 in 2009), Center Circle $35 per game ($40 in 2009), Sideline $25 per game ($35 in 2009) and Goal View $20 per game ($22 in 2009).

Earthquakes 2010 Partial PlanThe San Jose Earthquakes have one partial plan for the 2010 season still available, the Pick 6 Plan. With the Pick 6 Plan you can select any six Earthquakes home games at Buck Shaw Stadium during the 2010 regular season. Prices are as follows: Corona Cove - $330, Center Circle - $192, Sideline - $132, Goal View - $108, Supporters Section - $90. To purchase either of these partial plans or full season tickets, call the front at 408-556-7700 and ask to speak to a ticket sales representative.